Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature

Allen Stroud is a lecturer at Coventry University and a principal investigator in creative futures with the Ministry of Defence. He is the current chair of the British Science Fiction Association and was editor of the British Fantasy Society Journal from 2015 to 2019. He worked on the computer games Elite Dangerous (2014), Chaos Reborn (2016), and Phoenix Point (2019), developing world backgrounds, plot, and fiction. He is an award-winning writer and has written critical works, short stories, novels, and music. His new science fiction novel, Fearless, came out in September 2020, and the sequel, Resilient, was published in 2022.

With content ranging from 23rd-century-BCE pyramid texts to award-winning fantasy authors in 2023, Stroud’s second edition of Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literature is a worthy sequel to Brian Stableford’s first edition (CH, Mar'06, 43-3754). The present edition includes some 200 entries on terms, subgenres, and imagery relevant to fantasy literature. No work can be exhaustive, and Stroud took great care in selecting authors of historical significance and contemporary authors energizing the fantasy genre. Terms were included based on the frequency of their usage in criticism. Like many works on fantasy, this historical dictionary focuses primarily on American and Western European authors and works. However, Stroud does attempt to broaden the base of fantasy literature and include non-Western authors and origins. Readers may not always agree with the selections, but this reviewer was impressed by the volume's scope. In addition to the care he took in selection, Stroud curated each entry to serve as a starting point for future research. Selected titles included in various entries as well as an extensive bibliography serve as points for additional research. Words in bold throughout cross-reference other entries, and the extensive opening chronology helps draw connections between individual works and their place in history. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.

• PrefaceReader’s NoteChronologyIntroductionDictionaryBibliographyAbout the Author